Various types of utility trays and bathtub caddie trays have been available for several years. Examples of such are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,950,793 to Adams (issued Apr. 20, 1976); U.S. Pat. No. 3,239,850 to Kiss (issued Mar. 20, 1963); and U.S. design patent Des. 250,439 to Holstein (issued Dec. 5, 1978). These patents describe trays which are placed on the upper surfaces of two opposed bathtub side walls and extend between the bathtub side walls, over the tub basin. One concern regarding these designs is that the tray could be easily slid off of one or both side walls, causing any items held on the tray to be dropped into the tub basin. Moreover, because these designs require the tray to be suspended over the tub basin at all times, these designs often make it awkward for the bather to enter or exit the bathtub without disrupting the tray or its contents.
As an alternative, U.S. Pat. No. 3,834,782 to Pampinella (issued Sep. 10, 1974) describes a wall mounted caddie design which supports a toiletries container for swinging motion over a bathtub. However, according to this design, the caddie is permanently attached to the wall and has very limited adjustment features. Installation can be difficult, especially when installed on a tile wall. Moreover, the structure of the caddie is relatively complicated, which would likely result in a relatively high cost of manufacture.
Thus, while various utility and bathtub tray caddies have been proposed, typical proposed designs are found to be relatively cumbersome to use, difficult to install, difficult or impossible to adjust to fit a particular installation requirement (e.g., bathtub size) or to fit a particular bather, and relatively expensive to manufacture. There is a need in the industry for an improved utility tray and bathtub caddie which addresses some or all of the above concerns.